Stop Calling Me That!
by TheWritingWarrior
Summary: Shikadai has been calling her Sarada-sama as long as he can remember. They are 17 now and on their way back from a mission. What happens when Sarada suddenly tells him to stop calling her that?


All his life he's called her Sarada-sama.

After all, his mom didn't raise him to be disrespectful. Ever since he was small, his mom would take him over to Sarada's house so they could play. Really it was just an excuse for the adults to gossip.

The first time Shikadai was able to say her name, his mom made it clear that he was to respect Sarada.

"She's Sarada-sama to you! You have to treat Sarada like the lady she is. Geeze! My son isn't going to grow up to be a loser who can't respect women."

Needless to say, she went a little overboard that day. But ever since, Shikadai made sure that he called Sarada, Sarada-sama. Sakura Uchiha must have made a big deal about it because his mom never corrected him when it came to any of the other girls he interacted with. Thus, Sarada being the only girl in his life he called -sama.

Even so, calling her Sarada-sama became a habit. And habits are hard to break.

"I told you to stop calling me Sarada-sama!" Sarada hissed.

Shikadai scratched the back of his head and sighed, "Sorry, Sarada."

The two of them sat by a campfire. They were on their way back from an A Rank escort mission and had a few more days to go. The mission went just as planned. Shikadai noted where the easiest points for an ambush could happen and they created a plan for almost every situation. It was nothing the two of them couldn't handle and they work well together.

Sarada moved one of her shogi pieces. "It's alright. It's just a little weird you know?"

"Is it?" Without missing a beat, he moved his in a counter attack.

"Well, I mean it was okay when we were kids. I'm sure all of the adults thought it was cute. But now we're 17 and..." She trailed off staring at the board, no doubt trying to figure out her next move.

It was a miracle that he was able to get her to play him. She was one of the better opponents that he's faced, but she always got frustrated with the game.

He didn't press her until after she made her move. "But now we're 17 and it's a little creepy isn't it?" He finished for her.

Sarada made a choking sound. "No!"

"Really? Inojin told me I was starting to sound creepy calling you Sarada-sama all the time."

"You aren't creepy!"

Shikadai smirked as he watched her try and regain her composure. "Well, that's a relief." He moved another piece and they resumed the game.

They continued on in silence for a while. Shikadai already knew he was going to win 5 plays ago. He was just waiting to see when Sarada would figure it out. He could even pinpoint the exact moment she knew the game was over. If Sarada was a book, he knew her cover to cover.

He studied her facial expressions. He was fixated by the way her forehead creased when she was concentrating. She hadn't changed since the days at the academy. It was the same face she made when she was taking a test or trying to figure out her opponent's next move.

Then, it happened. An eyebrow raise. Followed by a frown and then lastly a glare. She knew.

"How many moves?" It was all she asked.

"5 this time." Normally she was only behind 2 or 3 moves before she realized. She was definitely distracted.

Sarada fell to her back, defeated.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Normally when Sarada lost by so much, she would be swinging her fists at something.

She was silent for a while, but she finally responded. "Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind lately."

'What a drag.' Shikadai thought. 'Now I'm going to have to listen to her problems.'

He should have just stayed silent. But with Sarada, he couldn't resist. "You want to talk about it?" She froze. When she didn't respond for a while he continued, "What, you don't want to talk about it?"

"Not with you!" Sarada shot up. He knew she regretted those words when she covered her mouth.

Shikadai started to pack up his shogi set and muttered, "Sorry, forget that I asked."

"Shikadai, that's not what I meant."

He didn't respond. That's the last time he's offering to lend an ear to anyone.

Sarada placed a hand on top of his, stopping him from picking up. "Thank you for asking though. It really means a lot."

He looked up at her. This time, he couldn't read her. She wouldn't meet his eyes, but there was almost a desperate determination. It was like she was nervous or afraid.

"Don't worry about it." He didn't move his hand. It felt oddly comforting.

Then she met his eyes. It felt like millions of tiny sparks traveled over his hand and up his arm. It was a sensation that he had never felt before and oddly, he didn't dislike it. Then she pulled away. The sensation was gone.

Instead, she busied herself with helping him pick up the board. Normally she was precise with her movements, even when picking up shogi pieces but tonight she was just being sloppy. She was definitely distracted.

"I-" She started, "I don't hate it when you call me Sarada-sama."

That shocked him. He took a second before he could respond, "But you-"

"I know. It's just," Sarada took a deep breath, "People talk you know."

"Talk?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and they stuff like we are dating and things like that."

Shikadai lost focus and his hand bumped against Sarada's. There were those sparks again.

"What?" Was all he could say.

When he looked up he could see Sarada's face flush with embarrassment. It made him blush. Shikadai was about to say something else when Sarada shot up gathering her stuff quickly.

"Uh, I better get to bed."

Before she could get too far, Shikadai got up and caught her wrist. "Wait."

Sarada stopped. She didn't look at him.

"If you really want me to stop calling you Sarada-sama, I will." He squeezed slightly reassuring her.

She turned around, eyes locking with his. "What?"

"It'll be troublesome though." He continued. "Habits are hard to break."

"No."

"No?" He questioned.

"You big idiot!" She was in his face now, face red in either anger or embarrassment. He couldn't tell.

In that moment they were like magnets. He felt an undeniable pull towards her. His eyes locked with hers as they inched closer and closer. When he felt their breaths mingling, he couldn't hold back any longer.

Dipping his head down he closed the distance between their lips. It was a brief kiss but it was enough for Shikadai. At least for now.

He looked down at Sarada who was leaning against his chest, "You're one troublesome woman, Sarada-sama."

"Took you long enough." She muttered through her smile.


End file.
